Sharky's

Charcuteri: bresaola, smoked pork tenderloin and coppa. A passable glass of chardonnay.

Amazing cheese plate. Goat's cheese, camembert and a morbier with fresh black truffle. Roasted cashews and cinnamon/apple compote.

The best artisanal ice cream I have had in Asia. Rum/raisin, chocolate chip and coconut.

Sharky's
117 Dhammazedi Road
(just north of the Shwe Dagon pagoda)
Yangon, Myanmar

Notes: It all started with a Monocle podcast. B and I are both avid listeners of The Menu and long before I had even considered going to Myanmar, there was a feature on Sharky's in Yangon. Why? The place is rather unique in comparison to Yangon's culinary scene's other offerings where most food is served on the street and made from local prodce and more formalized options are based on imported goods. Sharky's however produces its own charcuteri, cheese and ice creams with locally sourced inputs. Pretty spectacular given the evident lack of infrastructure, especially cold chains and the like. So of course I had to give it a shot during my time in Yangon. 

For the sake of sampling the entire portfolio of their foods made in-house, I went a bit overboard but honestly, the food was so delicious that I finished it all. The charcuteri? Good. Certainly matches the quality of many South European equivalents. The bresaola had some chew, which I really liked, while the coppa was the sort that melts-in-your mouth. The cheese? Obviously, the place specializes in dairy products that do not require too long time for production, why I was only served softer types. All were great and full fat varieties. Especially, the morbier was incredibly delicious and I was baffled by the use of fresh truffle (as much as I know those cannot be sourced in Myanmar, though!). All in all, a pretty exceptional selection where you certainly felt that it was homemade and not of the imported kind. The same goes for the ice cream. Probably the best artisanal ice cream I have tried anywhere in Asia, again due to the high quality of the cream. To me the rum/raisin was the showstopper here. I am sure I could have eaten three more scoops had they been set in front of me.

In total, I had a very pleasant evening at Sharky's. The place is not inexpensive, and for the three dishes and two glasses of wine, I paid approx. 50 USD. The wine I should say, is of the imported kind, and given the fact that Myanmar now produces wine that is more than just merely drinkable, I thought it could had been a great feature. The high price level is naturally also reflected in the clientele, as prices by far exceed what locals can afford. Nonetheless, the atmosphere at Sharky's is light and relaxed. I quickly fell into talks with the couple dining next to me and would most certainly return for a scoop or three of that delicious ice cream. Highly recommended.